Lower thirds:

00:02 Report by Rosie Birchard
00:17 Marieke van Bommel | Director, World Museum Leiden
00:50 Rosie Birchard | DW Correspondent | Leiden
01:14 Nick Ohumoibhi | Nigerian diplomat
01:52 Toyosi James Abdulai | Nigerian-Dutch student

  
SCRIPT:

<<<Bronzes being taken out of museum case>>>

The start of a homecoming journey. 

These Benin Bronzes are being returned from the World Museum in the Dutch city of Leiden,
Almost 130 years  after they were stolen from the Kingdom of Benin in modern-day Nigeria,

+++SOT Marieke van Bommel, Director, World Museum Leiden+++
There was an expedition in 1897 and there was a lot of violence. And they robbed the whole palace, actually -- the British army did. And then they sold it throughout Europe to diverse museums and we bought some -- but this is looted art. It doesn’t belong here, although we paid for this. So we made a restitution policy in the Netherlands. 

<<<Bronzes packed for delivery>>>
These sculptures were crafted  between the 15th and 19th centuries  for the royal court in Benin City -- 
Now, more than 100 of them are being prepared for repatriation.

+++PTC Rosie Birchard in Leiden+++
It’s a really painstaking process. From here each object will be carefully packed in individually designed boxes filled with special protective material. And then they’ll be flown to Lagos in Nigeria.

<<Bronzes in Leiden>>>
It might be these sculptures’ first flight, 

<<<Nigerian diplo showing Rosie passport with pics of bronzes>>
But in a manner, the bronzes have long been frequent flyers: pictures of them adorn the pages of all Nigerian passports.

+++SOT Nick Ohumoibhi, Nigerian Diplomat+++
It represents national identity, which was taken away, you know, as far back as 1897. And to deem it 's necessary to return, you know, those artifacts is something that we really cherish is important because it's like restoration of dignity.

<<<Museum exteriors>>>
Nigerian institutions have long campaigned to bring the Benin Bronzes home from Western museums.

<<<Baerbock picture>>>
Germany handed over 20 of the sculptures back in 2022
And some have also been returned from UK galleries --

<<British museum collection>>>
but a major collection of around 900 bronzes in the British Museum in London is going nowhere; with an act of parliament from the 1960s restricting returns. 

Nigerian-Dutch student Toyosi hopes the latest move will add more pressure

SOT Toyosi James Abdulai, Nigerian-Dutch student 
For me, it goes further than the Benin bronzes. // A step in the right direction. But eventually we would like to see the 900 -- I think the collection is over 900 pieces -- we would like to see it returned because it's not just art. It is a part of history, especially history that is mostly oral.

<<<dutch museum>>
Back in Leiden, curators know this return won’t be the last: research shows there’s more looted art inside these walls. 
And Indonesia -- once under Dutch colonial rule – has also campaigned for decades to have its stolen art returned, with several hundred items sent back so far.
For now, these Benin Bronzes are blazing a trail from the Netherlands--
And four will remain on loan from Nigeria, so part of the story of stolen art can still be told here.